Championing faith as a virtue has got to be the best example of turning a weakness into a strength i can think of. It’s become the, non-falsifiable, fall-safe for believers to confidently, comfortably, fall back on. But it’s about time to unapologetically set the record straight, burning this security blanket to ash, once and for all.

When i say faith, i do not mean trust, nor hope, but religious faith. Hebrew 11:1 “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(KJV), faith. In other words; faith – to accept a claim as true, despite a total lack of demonstrable evidence, and often, despite evidence to the contrary. If any believer had any actual evidence for their god claim, they would have no need for such an impotent, unreliable, tool at discerning the truth, such as blind faith. They would simply present their evidence, as one normally does when making an assertion, or is trying to be convincing. Banks do not give out loans based on how faith-full their customers are, after all.

So to instill this baseless concept, it is best to start young. Which is probably why one of the oldest & earliest tales the Abrahamic religions like to tell is that of Adam & his second wife Eve. The one made from a rib bone, of course (as opposed to a golem spell as Adam & Lilith). This little ditty pits knowledge & learning as the insufferable evil to be avoided at all cost. (Which is why it was put in the center of the garden, i guess) All the while lauding unquestioned obedience to authority as the noble & preferred way to live one’s life. Yet, it wasn’t until we came up with the scientific method, which is designed to take our biases out of the equation, and to let the evidence lead where it may. (The antithesis of faith) Only when we began to fully embrace this new technique did the quality of human life start to drastically improve, on the macro. E.g. Life expectancy, infant mortality rates, access to food & medicine, etc. While unquestioned obedience to authority has done nothing but stunt these progressions, not to mention, such dogmatic, ‘for the greater good’, philosophy has been essential in carrying out pretty much every major atrocity known to man. As the saying goes, good people will do good on their own, but it takes religion/dogma to get otherwise decent people to commit acts of evil. Though, it does make it easier to control the masses, i have to say.

Nowadays most have come to realize, whether consciously or not, that the latter option is clearly the better method when it comes to day-to-day operations or getting things accomplished, in general. One would never just have faith that their car will come to a stop at the next red light. Especially with a child in the car. We press the brake pedal, because it continues to produce the desired result. And if it doesn’t, we take it in to get it fixed. Distinctly unlike faith. Yet we continue to give mouth service to this failed concept, treating it as a virtue, when it is anything but. Which lets faith insidiously seep into other areas, such as thinking it’s okay to just have faith in your favorite celebrity, and their ill-informed notions on vaccines, right??

Dogmatic ideologies are nothing but a tool for corruption, subjugation, and stifling social, civil, & scientific progress, and should be shunned, called out, and dismantled whenever & wherever they show their ugly heads, religious or otherwise. But again, this does not mean we shouldn’t have hope or trust in people & the future. I believe it would be unhealthy not to. I am also not saying definitively that there are no gods whatsoever. I’d be happy to acknowledge one, as soon as there is some demonstrable evidence for any (sorry, the Bible doesn’t cut it). Though, as Arthur C. Clarke, & others, have pointed out, i don’t know how anyone could tell a god from a sufficiently technologically advanced life form?  I just think if there was an all-loving omnipotent deity out there in the Cosmos, she would have/want absolutely nothing to do with the Bible. And if she did, it would only be to use as a tool to suss out the frauds, lickspittles & sycophants.

So until the day there is some actual evidence to examine, i will remain in the only rational position available, imo. That of an agnostic atheist, for i know nothing for a certainty, nor am i arrogant enough to claim to. And if the Jealous, vindictive, petty god of the Bible turns out to exist, I will acknowledge him, but I would never ever worship him. For one, I find the practice to be abhorrent. Two, well, have you read the Bible?! If not, I suggest you do. Seriously, it’s the quickest way, I know of, to go from Christian to atheist. Come on over, the grass is green, and Dogma free : )

So next time you here someone try to praise their, or someone else’s, faith, don’t be afraid to point out how foolish that is. It may seem rude, but in the long run you will be doing them, and everyone else, a huge favor, by shifting the Overton window (rage of tolerated discourse) on this very important topic, that has gone unchallenged for far too long.

But I know nothing, so let me know you thoughts !